STEM INTERVENTIONS PROVED IMPACTLESS ON EXAM RESULTS

9/27/2017 1:25:33 AM

The UK government has been a lot concerned that the number of its students interested in subjects like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are much lower than that in other countries. Since it felt that these subjects are vital to its economic growth, it offered STEM enrichment activities to its students. This was an effort to promote its students’ interests in these subjects.

Dr. Pallavi Amitava Banarjee, University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education, analyzed the government statistics concerning each of its 300 schools and its students. The past five years data indicated that STEM schemes had no impact on the mathematics performance of the students. She found that the students who did not participate in these activities scored just as well in the GCSE tests.

The scores are the only indicators of the program’s success. This is because only good mathematical scores can gain them admission to degree courses related to STEM, she said. "It is important to state that these enrichment activities can be fantastic, but the study did not find a direct impact on results and further research should be carried out to find out why" stated Dr. Banerjee.